Quick Hits with Clint LaTray

Roy Philpott

04/11/2003

Clint LaTray will become the second player from the great state of Texas to join the Tigers this fall. Read more about LaTray's decision to come to Clemson as well discover more about his strenghts and weaknesses in this detailed report.

THE STATS: Clint LaTray was a first team All-District, All-Area and third team All-State performer during his senior season at Allen High School in Allen, Texas. He helped lead his team to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, including a 10-3 record during his junior year.

STRENGTH: LaTray has good size and decent speed for a big offensive lineman and he's played against some of the top competition in the country out in Texas. He has great footwork and can also play a number of positions, including both guard and center. His high school coaches say that LaTray has incredible footwork and that the Tigers would be hard pressed to find another lineman that moves as well as he does.

WEAKNESS: LaTray will come to Clemson needing to continue to work hard in the weight room. He has outstanding quickness but could use a redshirt season to bulk up and get ready for primetime in 2004.

INTERESTING NOTES: LaTray will become the second player on the Clemson roster from Texas. Senior linebacker John Leake is also from the Lone star state, and Leake actually helped take LaTray around campus on an unofficial visit this past summer. His main recruiter was Clemson offensive line coach Ron West and the big offensive lineman chose the Tigers over SMU, Tulane, and Texas Christian. LaTray, who plans on majoring in engineering at Clemson, is also fully qualified with a solid score on his SAT and a GPA over 3.2 headed into his final semester of high school.

WHY CLEMSON? "I just knew back in the summer that Clemson was the place for me," said LaTray. "You know my aunt went to school there and since then, my grandparents have become really big fans and I have some family that lives in South Carolina as well, so it's not like I'm going to be that far away from home or anything. They want me to come in and play as a guard, which is fine by me. Coach West was talking for a while about me coming in and playing center for a while, but now they want me as guard. Either position is fine with me- I can actually play both. Right now, I'm just trying to get stronger this offseason and better prepare myself for playing football at the collegiate level next year."

HS COACH QUOTE: He's very aggressive football player with great quickness and excellent footwork. For a kid his size, you won't someone else that runs better or moves faster than Clint LaTray," said Allen assistant coach Terry Gambill.